A Tesco store has put up notices asking shoppers not to wear pyjamas or go barefoot. It seems the store in Cardiff has more than its fair share of customers who like to do their shopping in their night clothes. A spokesman for Tesco has said that although they do not have a strict dress code they do not want people shopping in their nightwear in case it offends other customers. The signs read as follows "To avoid causing offence or embarrassment to others we ask that our customers are appropriately dressed when visiting our store (footwear must be worn at all times and no nightwear is permitted)." Some of the customers, however, have described the ban as ridiculous and one lady has claimed she has shopped at the store in her pyjamas regularly before being turned away a week ago. She has claimed that the store will lose custom as people will choose to shop elsewhere. I’m not really sure I agree. Are people really too busy to bother getting dressed before they go to the supermarket?

This is Amber the first cat to win the UK slimming champion in PDSA’s annual Pet Fit Club Competition. The cat has managed to lose 17% of her boy weight to win the title. She started off weighing 7kg in September 2009 and has lost 1.23kg. As you can see by the before and after pictures she is now a much sleeker pussy cat.

This is Missy the world’s first cat to receive a knee replacement. She was close to death after being run over by a car but after receiving pioneering surgery to rebuild her limbs and being fitted with a metal joint she is now recovering nicely. To repair her leg a collagen mesh made from a pigs bladder was used to re-grow tissue and cover the bone. The bones were then placed in a device called a spider which held them in place until the bone and tissue had healed. The implant itself was custom made to fit Missy’s measurements. It was made out of stainless steel and bonded to the thigh bone and shin bone using cement. The new implant should allow Missy to walk, run and jump around as normal.

According to this article nine out of ten food allergy cases are all in the mind. Researchers say that nine out of ten Britons who believe they have a food allergy or intolerance are actually perfectly healthy. Studies show that although 20 per cent of adults claim they cannot eat certain foods when in reality fewer than 2% actually have a problem. Internet searches, self testing kits and celebrity food fads are blamed for the problem which causes millions of people to restrict their diet unnecessarily. Other people could be suffering from a medical problem which goes untreated because they believe they are suffering a food intolerance instead. The advice here is to see your doctor to receive a correct diagnosis.

If you have some extra money to spare and fancy buying something a little unusual then you might be interested in this hole. It has recently been put up for sale by the owners for the first time in 150 years. The hole was once used as a quarry and has since been filled with water. It measures 142 metres (466ft deep). It is thought that it might attract interest from people wanting to use it as a leisure site for diving or perhaps to drain it to use for climbing. If you are interested in purchasing it, it is expected to sell for offers over £30,000.

That’s a question that some teenagers might struggle to answer correctly if this article is to be believed. It suggests that teenage schoolchildren think bacon comes from sheep and that oats grow on trees. Many also thought that eggs were the main ingredient in bread. The results comes from a survey conducted on behalf of the Home Grown Cereals Authority as part of the Farmhouse Breakfast Week awareness campaign. Whilst the majority of over 40s questioned knew the answers to the simple questions, the results found that 26% of children thought bacon came from sheep, 29% thought oats grow on trees, and 17% of both children and adults under the age of 30 believed eggs were a core ingredient in bread. Based on the findings it appears that are some shocking gaps in the knowledge of the younger generation.

If this article is correct then online food shopping is set to double within the next five years. That’s according to new estimates from the Institute of Grocery Distribution. Their research shows that customers will spend nearly £7.2bn on grocery shopping online by 2014, that’s nearly double the figure spent last year. Personally I do most of food shopping online. It allows me to shop for the whole month without worrying about getting it in my small car and I find I budget better and am less likely to overspend.

If you like the idea of eating fresh produce from your own allotment but are not to keen on all the hard work involved, then this scheme might be for you. Launched by Wimpole Home Farm in Cambridgeshire it allows people to own a plot of land on an allotment. A grower will then plant, harvest and maintain the plot and for just £8 the owner will receive the fruits of their labour. An acre of land has been put aside by Wimpole Home Farm for the scheme and this has been divided into 50 sections which are being offered to individual owners. The land is owned by the National Trust and they have pledged to create 1,000 similar plots across the UK in the next 3 years. It seems like a good idea for those who want seasonal fruit and vegetables but don’t really have to time to spend growing it themselves.

According to this article the number of people advertising for a lodger has risen by 27% in the first two weeks of the year. According to Spareroom.co.uk the rise is down to people looking to raise extra income because they have over stretched financially after the Christmas period. The group have said that they saw a record number of people advertising for lodgers during 2009 and that it expects the trend to continue this year. With the average weekly rent costing £87 it seems like a good way to bring in some extra cash if you have a big enough house to be able to do it.

According to this article a temple dedicated to an ancient cat goddess has been found in Egypt. The temple in Alexandria is thought to be around 2,000 years old. It is the first trace of the royal quarters of the Ptolemaic dynasty to be revealed in the area and confirms that the Greek dynasty of Egyptians worshipped ancient animal deities. The temple which is 60m high by 15m wide is thought to have belonged to Queen Berenike 11 the wife of Ptolemy who ruled in the third century BC. It is filled with statues of Bastet the feared lion headed goddess whose image gradually changed over time to resemble the domestic cat.

If this article is to be believed then this could be the world’s expensive leg of lamb. It has gone on sale at Selfridges £1,800 for a leg. This is no ordinary ham, however, it weighs 7kg and comes with its own DNA certificate as proof of authenticity. The ham comes from one of just 50 carefully selected pigs that have been reared in Extremadura in western Spain. The pigs were fed a diet of acorns and roots to give the ham a distinctive flavour. After being slaughtered the ham was then salted and cured for three years before going on sale. According to the Selfridges fresh food buyer connoisseurs will appreciate the hams melt in the mouth texture.

It appears that divorce is now big business with companies offering divorce cakes and divorce parties. Now it seems Debenhams are cashing in on the market. They have launched a divorce guest list. Much the same as a wedding gift list it works in exactly the same way and not surprisingly contains many of the same items such as kitchen appliances, crockery and glasses. It takes into account that when a marriage breaks down one person leaves the marital home and has to start again with those essentials we tend to take for granted. With January being the peak time of year for divorce it will be interesting to see how much interest this idea generates.

According to this article there has been a huge rise in the number of pets being abandoned over the Christmas period. UK animal charities are struggling to cope the number of unwanted animals on their books and many also have long waiting animals that need a place in the re-homing centre. Battersea Dogs and Cats home in particular have said they are unable to cope with the number of pets arriving and have had to create a waiting list for local authorities. Animals on the waiting list will have to be looked after by the local council whilst there wait for a place to become available at the home. The situation is unlikely to improve as this time of year usually sees a rise in more animals being abandoned as people find pets brought for Christmas are too expensive to keep. If you have space for a furry friend then it might be worth checking out those that need a new home at the Battersea website here.

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